


Your Secret Admirer

by Kayluh1915



Series: Kayla Attempted and Failed Fictober 2019 [5]
Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Girlfriends/No Wives, Awkward Dates, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-11-26 16:23:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20933201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kayluh1915/pseuds/Kayluh1915
Summary: Rhett goes on a mission to find out who has been sending him anonymous gifts.





	Your Secret Admirer

**Author's Note:**

> I know I'm a bit behind, but I'm hoping that a 3,000+ word fic will make up for it? *nervous smile* Anyways, I'm pretty proud of how this turned out and I hope you guys enjoy it too! ♥️

This was it. Despite his best efforts he was not only late but had accidentally taken down one of his employees when he abruptly ran into them.

“Jesus, I’m _ soo _ sorry Chris! I-I’m late for the script meeting and I just wasn’t watching where I was going.” He quickly apologized while helping his confused employee up to his feet. Rhett quietly thanked God that he didn’t have his usual cup of coffee in hand or the situation could have been a lot worse.

“It’s alright, man.” Rhett would have stayed longer to pardon his mistake, but he was already late enough as it was. He promised himself that he would make it up to him later and dashed to the conference room. He burst through the doors and took his usual seat next to Link, his best friend and business partner of over 35 years.

“Nice of you to finally join us, Rhett.” Link chuckled, patting his shoulder. Rhett didn’t say anything back in favor of keeping his head down and opening his binder. Chase then continued on with what he had been saying prior to Rhett’s disturbance when Link gently nudged him.

“What took you so long?” Rhett didn’t want to admit that he overslept, so he used his favorite excuse that worked every time.

“Traffic.” The meeting continued without any further embarrassments or mishaps and was finally dismissed two hours later. Rhett walked with Link back to their office, discussing how maybe the could make changes to an episode to help the channel stand out better. They stood at the door discussing the situation for about fifteen minutes before Rhett finally opened the door. On his way over to his desk, he began to get lost in thought about what he should have for his lunch in about an hour, but all possible meals were instantly forgotten when he made it to his desk and saw a vase of beautiful red roses sitting next to his laptop. He had never been more confused in all his life. Who in the world would send him roses?

“Oooo, who sent you roses?” Link asked, raising his eyebrow in a teasing manner.

“I-I don’t know. I’m not seeing anyone.”

“I thought you and that John dude was working out?” Rhett scoffed.

“Nah, he was a wack job.” Rhett pulled out his phone and called Stevie.

“Hey, boss.”

“Hey, did you bring these roses to my desk?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Who are they from?”

“I don’t know. They were delivered by a florist and they were addressed to you.” Rhett looked over at the roses now feeling even more puzzled than ever.

“Odd… well alright. Thanks, Stevie.” He then hung up the phone and sat down in his office chair, wheeling over to the roses. On top was a tag that said: “For Rhett.” He reluctantly took the tag and opened it up.

“Romance is difficult for me, but you make it a lot easier. 

-Your Secret Admirer.”

If Rhett wasn’t confused before, he sure as hell was now. “His Secret Admirer?” Who th- What was this? Even though he was confused as all hell, he couldn’t help but appreciate the romantic gesture. Red roses are his favorite and he always loved getting flowers. He’s been single for so long he’d almost forgotten what it was like to be admired by someone that wasn’t a screaming fan… but who the hell was it? Stevie could have easily lied about who the roses were from. There was also Annie who worked in editing that was rumored to have a crush on him.

“So, who’re they from?” Rhett looked the card over again before responding.

“A secret admirer.” Link gasped

“OOooooo!”

“Stop it.” Rhett deadpanned. Link, on the other hand, was excited for his friend and wanted to speculate.

“So, who do you think it is?” Rhett put the card back on the holder with the flowers and shrugged his shoulders.

“Have no clue.” Link scoffed.

“Really? Not one came into mind?”

“Maybe two or three, but nothing overwhelming.”

“Dude, it was TOTALLY Annie in editing. She’s had the hots for you since we hired her last month.” Rhett rolled his eyes.

“C’mon, man. That’s just a rumor.”

“A very plausible rumor. You should go ask her out to coffee or something. Connect, get to know each other.”

“And what if she didn’t send them? What then, Link?” He shrugged.

“It’s obvious that she did so you shouldn’t have to worry about it.” Rhett rolled his eyes, opening up his laptop.

“Yeah, no I think I’ll just keep these and forget about it.”

“Forget about it? Dude, someone likes you enough to go out and get you roses. You have to find that at least a little flattering.”

“I do. I appreciate the gesture, I just wish there was someone I could give my appreciation to.” The room went silent for a moment before Link spoke up again.

“Fine. I guess I’ll have to talk to Annie mysel-”

“Oh, I don’t think so.” Link pointed his finger to Rhett.

“Then you talk to her, or I will.” Rhett looked back at his computer and sighed.

“Fine, I’ll talk to her. Just sit down.” Link laughed in celebration, the room falling silent once again as the two men continued to work.

~~~~~~~

Rhett had just finished eating his lunch when he saw Chris again.

“Hey Chris, I’m sorry about earlier. I was in a hurry and wasn’t paying attention. Did I hurt you?” Chris shook his head.

“Nah, man. I’m fine. No harm no foul. I heard you got some roses.”

“Who told you?” Chris threw his thumb over his shoulder.

“Stevie told me. Said it was probably from that John guy.” Rhett didn’t even bother correcting him at this point.

“I don’t know if they were from him or not, but it doesn’t matter. I was looking for Annie. Have you seen her?” Chris nodded.

“She was in the editing room last I saw, but she may be in the kitchen with Josh. Said she had to help him out with something. Rhett thanked him and walked into the editing room, looking around for her.

“Hey, boss.” Waved Issac from his computer.

“Hey, have you seen Annie?” Issac shrugged his shoulders.

“She was in here a minute ago, but I don’t know where she went.” Rhett thanked him and left for the kitchen. Just like Chris said, there she was helping Josh cook… something. He never really knew.

“Hey, Rhett.” Josh greeted.

“Hey. Whatcha’ cooking?” Josh looked down at the skillet, siring the contents of it with a spatula.

“I’m testing out different scrambled eggs for an episode.” Rhett nodded, looking over to Annie who was cracking some eggs into a bowl. Even Rhett couldn’t deny that she was a pretty woman. She was a bit taller than average with bright red hair and mesmerizing green eyes. She was also close to his own age which helped out a lot as well. He didn’t expect to be nervous about talking to her, but yet here he was with sweaty hands and a pounding heart, trying his best to get the words out of his mouth.

“Hey, Annie?” She looked up from the bowl that she was focused on.

“Can I talk to you for a moment?” She suddenly seemed as nervous as he did, dropping an egg and almost tripping on her way over.

“Sure.” She followed him out into the hall and began fidgeting with a class ring on her right finger. “Did I do something wrong?” She asked. Rhett shook his head.

“No, no. You’re fine, Ann. I just…” He paused for a moment, hoping that he wasn’t sounding too forward. “Was wondering if you’d like to… grab a coffee sometime?” Her cheeks turned bright red.

  
“G-Grab a coffee? L-Like a date?” Rhett laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Umm… if that’s what you want it to be.” Annie looked down to the floor, her cheeks redder than ever.

“Uhhh, yeah. Sure, why not?” Rhett smiled, taking that as a confirmation that she was the one who sent the roses.

“Tomorrow after lunch?”

“Sounds great.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rhett was sitting at a table near the door of the coffee shop, bouncing his leg nervously as he waited for Annie, idly scrolling through his phone to pass the time. He hadn’t been on a date in so long and he was a nervous wreck. Link had given a pep talk beforehand, but whatever motivation he had given him was already gone. He figured that when she got there he would calm down, but he was proven wrong when his hands started to shake as soon as she walked in. Rhett stood up a bit too fast a greeted her, bringing her into a hug that felt… a little awkward if he was being honest. After they ordered their drinks, they both sat in tense silence, waiting for someone to speak as they sipped on their mugs.

“So, um... How’s your day been?” Rhett asked, trying to break the ice.

“Good, good.” She responded, taking another sip of her mocha. “Yours?”

“Fine.” The tense atmosphere returned, quiet filling the space between them once again. Rhett figured he needed a segway, so he decided to bring up the roses.

“Thank you for the roses, by the way. They were gorgeous.” Annie’s nose wrinkled up in confusion.

“Roses?” Rhett’s heart stopped and leaped into his throat. “What roses?”

“T-The roses on the-m-my desk yesterday? Those were from you, w-weren’t they?” He stammered, barely able to get the sentence out. Annie shook her head.

“No, I didn’t buy you any roses.” Rhett swallowed hard. If it wasn’t Annie, then who the hell could it have been? “Wait, is that why you asked me out?” Rhett reluctantly nodded.

“I-I thought you were my admirer.” Annie laughed.

“Look, Rhett. You’re really cute and all, but this can’t work out between us. I was willing to try, but I just can’t get over the fact that you’re my boss. It’s weirding me out too much. Not to mention that you only asked me out because you thought I bought you some flowers.” Rhett looked down at his mug, suddenly feeling bad.

“I’m sorry, Ann.” She placed her hand on top of his.

“Hey, look. No hard feelings, alright. Let’s just move on and forget this ever happened, okay?” Rhett agreed. He left the coffee shop not long after that, fishing his car keys out of his back pocket. He opened his car door and climbed in, putting his keys in the ignition when he saw an envelope on his windshield wiper.

“Damn it…” He groaned, thinking that it was a ticket. He hopped out of the car and grabbed the envelope. It became apparent to Rhett that it wasn’t a ticket when the words: “To Rhett” were written on the back in cursive script. Rhett got back in his car and opened the envelope. Inside was an LA postcard with some writing on the back in that same script handwriting.

“My love for you is as deep as the ocean

Has been since the Earth has been in motion.

Your voice is like a choir

One that I will forever admire.

I will give my all to you

For as long as I live

Forever yours,

-Your Secret Admirer”

It was cheesy, it was sappy, and it was just so goddamn sweet. Rhett held the card to his chest and looked up at the ceiling of his car.

“Who the hell are you?”

~~~~~~~~

Back at the studio, Link was taking a break in their secret napping loft when Rhett came back, postcard in his hand.

“Hey man, how’d it go?”

“It wasn’t Annie.” Link’s mouth went wide.

“W-What? But she agreed to get coffee with you.”

“Yeah, and told me that it was too weird for her.”

“Weird?” Link questioned.

“That’s what she said. She said that it was too weird for her to be dating her boss.”

“Well. What’s that?” Link asked, pointing to the postcard in Rhett’s hand.

“Another gift from the admirer.” Link jumped up, tripping over his shoes he had kicked off earlier.

“Lemme see!” Link jerked the card out of Rhett’s hand and read it, Rhett’s cheeks nearly lighting a fire. “Awww, dude that’s so cheesy!”

“Hush, now give it back.”

“And you like it! You actually like this ball of cheese!” Rhett rolled his eyes.

“Maybe a little, now can you please hand it back?” Link finally handed the postcard back. “Thank you.”

“I’m just wondering who it could be.” Rhett cringed, the awful date between him and Ann still fresh in his memory.

“I’m not. I just wanna forget about it and move on.”

“You’re not even a little curious?” Link asked, sitting back on the recliner.

“Well, yeah a little. It’s normal to be, but after what happened with Annie, I’m just not risking it anymore. If they want to come forward, they can. But until then, I’m just gonna move on.” Link shrugged his shoulders.

“Alright then.”

~~~~~~~~~~

As the weeks passed, Rhett continued to receive gifts from the admirer. Not every day or anything, but definitely enough to drive Rhett crazy with curiosity. He had gotten a candle, a new collar for Barbara, roses again, and, just today, a box of his favorite chocolates. Stevie handed him the heart-shaped box with a wink.

“Another one?” He asked, taking the box out of her hands.

“Yup. This person really has the hots for you.” The curiosity was driving Rhett mad. He loved all the gifts he had received, but not knowing who to thank for them was driving him crazy.

“Who the hell is sending me this stuff?” He asked, taking the card off of the box and reading it.

“Your guess is as good as mine. It’s always a delivery guy who gives it to me.” Stevie answered. Rhett put down the sappy card and sighed.

“I just wish I knew who this was…” Stevie thought for a moment.

“Okay, let’s put two and two together here. They know where you work, know what car you drive, know that you have a dog, and knew that you were going to be at the coffee shop. That HAS to narrow it down for you.” Rhett shrugged his shoulders.

“The only person who knows all that is…” Rhett paused. There’s no way.

“Who?” Rhett looked at Stevie, shock on his face.

“The only person who could have known that I was at the coffee shop… was Link. He and Anne were the only ones who knew I was going to the coffee shop that day… but it couldn’t be him… could it?” Stevie smiled at him, patting his shoulder.

“Ask him.”

“What? No! I’m not just going to walk up and ask Link if he’s been secretly sending me gifts all this time.”

“But what if it is him?” Rhett paused. He actually didn’t know the answer. He’s been friends with Link for as long as he can remember, but did he like Link _ that _ way? Would he be happy to find out that it had been Link who’s been sending him flowers, gifts, and sappy poetry? 

“I-... I-”

“You don’t even know the answer.” Rhett shook his head. “Listen, just think about it, alright? Would it really be that bad?” Rhett thought about it all day that day, not even being able to sleep. He laid on his bed staring at the ceiling with Barbra sleeping next to him. Would dating Link, his best friend through everything all these years, be so bad? All day he pictured what it would be like in his head. Hugging him, holding hands with him, walking their dogs in the park together, taking naps in the loft, and even what it would be like to make love with him. Despite all the thoughts running wild through his mind, there was one thing that stayed consistent. The butterflies in his stomach.

~~~~~~~~~

The next day, Rhett was exhausted. He hadn’t slept a wink the night before, but he had made up his mind. He had got to the studio early and was nervously sitting on the couch waiting for Link to arrive, piddling on his phone and nervously checking the time. When the door finally creaked open a little earlier than he expected, he felt his heart leap up into his chest, but the person who walked in wasn’t Link. It was Chris with a large bouquet of roses in his hand. He froze in place and turned white as a ghost when he saw Rhett sitting on the couch.

“R-Rhett… I- uhh… You’re-you’re usually not here until seven.” Rhett looked to the bouquet in Chris’ hand and then back to Chris, his mouth slowly gaping open with realization.

“It’s you… You’re sending me the gifts.” Chris smiled nervously.

“Yeah… I’m sorry.” Rhett didn’t know what to think. He had been 100% convinced that Link had been sending him the gifts and was prepared to greet Link that morning with a poem of his own and a surprise kiss… but it wasn’t Link and Rhett couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

“No, don’t be. I’ve been dying to thank the person who’s been leaving them.” Chris smiled, siting the roses on Rhett’s desk.

“Really?” His brown eyes sparkled.

“Mmm. I uhh… really liked everything. Especially the collar for Barbra.” Chris’s cheeks were bright pink.

“I’m glad you liked them.” Silence fell between them before Chris began to lean in. Rhett felt like he should stop him, but he didn’t. He allowed Chris to kiss him, allowed him to thread his hands through his hair and hold onto him, but it didn’t feel right. He hated to admit it, but he wanted Chris to be Link. All these years, he never knew what to call the special way he felt for Link, but after a night of soul searching, he knew exactly what to call it… love. He pulled Chris away from his lips, Chris’ eyes glazed over with passion, but frowned when he saw that Rhett didn’t match.

“I’m… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have-”

“No, don’t be sorry. It’s just, my heart belongs to someone else. I appreciate everything… I really do, but I can’t force something that’s not there. I’m sorry.” Chris stepped back, looking like he was about to cry.

“I understand. He’s a lucky guy, you know?” Rhett was confused.

“How did-”

“The way you look at him. Protect him. Hold him. It’s the way I wish you could treat me.” Rhett felt sorry for Chris.

“I’m-”

“Don’t apologize. Really, I get it. Just do me a favor and keep this between us, okay?” Rhett nodded.

“Of course.” Chris turned towards the door and walked out, leaving Rhett alone again in the office. He felt so bad for Chris. He knew what it was like to love someone and them not love you back, but he didn’t have time to dwell on it. Link walked in the door with a cup of coffee in his hand, sitting it on his desk as he pointed his thumb back towards the door.

“Hey, what’s wrong with Chris? He was cry-” Rhett ran over to Link and pulled his lips into a deep, passionate kiss. Link was shocked, eyes wide and mouth still as Rhett pulled away. “Wh- What?”

“I know you aren’t the one who sent me the gifts, but I wish it was. I’ve always wanted it to be you.” Link stood there for a moment, not saying a word and scaring Rhett to death. He thought he may have ruined their friendship for a bit, but Link soon returned the smile and ran his hand through Rhett’s curls.

“You should know by now that I’m not that romantic.” Link chuckled.

“Sure had me fooled.” Rhett then leaned back into kiss him, Link reciprocating this time. He may not have been Rhett’s official secret admirer, but he was one nonetheless.


End file.
